


blue skies

by birlcholtz (justwhatialwayswanted)



Series: Frog Ficlets [13]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: (good days bad days is really the 'hurt' part), F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, References to Depression, rated as teen but honestly just b/c of profanity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28212741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justwhatialwayswanted/pseuds/birlcholtz
Summary: The text says, I don't know if I can get through this semester.Chowder makes himself press send.(I think this can be read as a standalone but it's technically a part 2 for good days, bad days, earlier in this series)
Relationships: Chris "Chowder" Chow & Derek "Nursey" Nurse & William "Dex" Poindexter, Chris "Chowder" Chow/Caitlin Farmer
Series: Frog Ficlets [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1123719
Comments: 12
Kudos: 57





	blue skies

Chowder starts small. Or maybe 'smaller' is the right word.

He starts with Cait, because she knows something's up, has known for a long time, or at least it feels that way. He doesn't know how she'll react, but he's pretty sure she won't be surprised, and that makes her a bit easier to start with.

The text says,  _ I don't know if I can get through this semester. _

He makes himself press send.

One nerve-wracking minute later, she calls him. The green answer button makes Chowder almost nauseous, but he taps it anyway.

"I'm on my way to the Haus," Cait says immediately. She never says hello—just dives right into what she wanted to say. He kind of loves that about her. "I'm bringing three boxes of Kraft mac and cheese to distract Bitty from the fact that I'm also smuggling in supermarket frosted sugar cookies. The pink kind."

Chowder's not sure if his voice will work for a moment, but he manages to say "How...?"

"I have my ways." There's a muffled voice on the other end of the line, and Cait says something before coming back to her phone. "Babe, I won't lie, I was getting pretty close to frog-marching you to counseling."

Ha. Frogs.

He'd thought she knew something was up.

"But I'm so glad you told me," she continues, and the sincerity in her voice pours like cool water. "I just left the volleyball house, so I'm a couple minutes away. When I get there, tell me if you want to make a game plan or if you want to vent or if you want to eat cookies and stare out the window. I'm good with any. Or all."

"I love you," Chowder says.

"I love you too. We'll figure it out."

"Yeah." Saying it doesn't feel like a lie, or like putting on the happy face that is sometimes so hard to take off. Maybe it's the calm resolution in Cait's voice, maybe it's the relief of finally telling someone, but... whatever it is, it's better. "We will. See you soon."

Once he tells Cait (and once the sugar and carbs from the cookies kick in and he has a spark of energy, no matter how faint), it's easier to tell Nursey and Dex. So much easier that it almost feels like a snap decision.

He texts them too, even though they're in the next room. Cait rests her chin on his shoulder while he writes the text, and he feels... well, not  _ alive _ -alive, but better. More. This text is a bit less dire, a bit less mournful, but he resists the urge to minimize it.

**C:** this semester fucking sucks and idk how to get through it

Literally five seconds later, two sets of footsteps come down the hall and stop right outside Chowder's door. He almost wants to laugh at how in-sync they are. Cait grins.

Someone knocks. It has to be Nursey—Dex is nowhere near that reverent with any of the doors in the Haus.

"Come in," Chowder says.

The door opens, and Dex and Nursey step inside with matching concerned eyebrows. Nursey shuts the door before saying in a hushed voice, "Farms, supermarket cookies?" The box is half-eaten, which they might regret later, but for now the sweetness is nice. "Bitty will go nuclear."

"He'll get disappointed," Dex says.

"That's worse."

"Yeah."

Cait shrugs, fearless. "Bitty never needs to know."

"So," Nursey says, plopping down on the floor. (Dex claims the desk chair.) "This semester. What's the coping strategy of choice, besides cookies? Is this calling for a TV marathon or p-set marathon?"

Chowder sighs. "As appealing as the first option sounds, it needs to be a p-set marathon. I'm behind in pretty much everything and have run out of ways to self-motivate."

"Okay. Do any of your professors know?"

"Uh, no."

Nursey nods. "'Kay. Do you want me to ghostwrite emails asking them to give you slack?"

"Maybe in a few weeks? I've already asked all of them for extensions in the last month."

"Got it."

"Where have you been trying to get stuff done?" Dex says.

"Huh." It's been a while since Chowder has really felt the urge to pick up and go somewhere to do work. That has felt like too much commitment when he knows he won't get anything done anyway. "Here, pretty much."

"I can drag you with me when I go to Founders to study? The change of location might help."

"We can do a study group," Cait says. "Keep each other on track and watch out for signs that anyone needs an emergency Annie's run."

"That sounds good." It feels like every muscle in Chowder's body has released a little tension. "Thanks."

Nursey smiles. "We got your back. Thanks for telling us."

It's the weirdest feeling. Chowder always gets a little bit of an energy boost around other people, but this is more than that. When was the last time he saw the end of this semester as anything other than an ominous gray mass of foreboding and doom? Something that could only be braced for?

And, yeah, this isn't a perfect solution, because the perfect solution would probably be to take time off school and that just... won't happen. Can't happen. Maybe he can take a break over the summer. He's kept thinking that he just needs to make it to the end of the semester. Now that feels like something he can actually do.

"Are you going to say anything to your parents?" Dex asks.

Well. That's a question.

"If I need to," Chowder says slowly. "There's not a whole lot they can do from California, and I don't want to make it a huge thing."

Cait raises her eyebrows. "Let me stop you right there. Asking for support is not 'making it a huge thing.'"

"I know!" He has always known that—it's the 'putting it into practice' part that's difficult. "I'll talk to them if I need their help. Hold me to it."

"Oh, we will."

Nursey scoots a bit closer to where Chowder and Cait are sitting on the bed. "Also. Just a PSA. Now is not the time to worry about your caffeine intake. If it helps, it helps. There's not much time left until the end of the semester, anyway, so there's a limit on how much coffee you can drink."

"Speaking of sustenance," Dex says. "Are those cookies up for grabs?"

Chowder pushes the box toward him. "Oh my god, yes, please take some, we've already had so many."

"Fuck yes." Dex takes his time picking a cookie, which Chowder does not understand since they're literally from a factory and almost completely identical, but he accepts his friends' neuroses like they accept his. "You got this. Tell us what you need to make it work. You will get through it and by mid-May you'll never have to think about this semester again."

"That sounds optimistic."

"It's true. You'll definitely get through it. It's just a question of how. And we'll figure that out."

Cait nods. "You told someone, which was the hardest part. There are a lot of hours at Founders ahead of us, but they'll be so much better than trying to catch up on your own. We'll always have someone who can hold the table during an Annie's run, for instance."

"That is the second time you've mentioned going to Annie's," Nursey observes. "Is that some kind of hint?"

She grins. "Well, now that you mention it..."

They hide the remaining cookies and go to Annie's, just because.

Stepping back outside with a mocha in his hands makes Chowder feel like the whole world has opened up to him again. He's not under a silent weight. Cait's right—there's a lot of work ahead of him, but suddenly, it's so much less daunting than it was before. For the first time in weeks, he's not mentally composing apologetic emails to his professors.

He takes a sip and lets himself breathe.


End file.
